Retirement Planning – Highwood, IL
For the people in "Generation X" - described as individuals born between the mid-1960s and the early 1980s - retirement planning sounds like something your parents or other "old people" might do. But guess what? With a lot of "baby boomers" either already in the midst of retirement or observing it in the near future, "Generation X" is the next generation of individuals to reach retirement. Sure, it's still a ways off, but people in their 30s and 40s have to begin centering their investment planning on retirement and making certain they have the sort of retirement they are working hard to have. Here are some tips on preparing for retirement:
Retirement life in the future will be different than the retirement right now. It will be far better in some ways, and worse in some ways. But, the retirement planning for today's workforce needs to be far different than it was in days gone by.
On the bright side, individuals are living longer than ever. As of a few years ago, the average life span of an American was 77.9 years, exactly 2.5 years more than the average life span in 1990 and more than 4 years more than the average life span in 1980. So investment planning for retirement has to account for a longer time of time now than a generation or two ago.
Social Security and Retirement - Highwood, IL
On the down side, Social Security will probably be a far less trustworthy source of income than it is now. And also the odds are slim-and getting slimmer every year-that retirees 20 and 30 years from now will be able to rely on a work pension and enjoy lifetime benefits from their former workplace. Increasingly more, retirees will have to rely on their financial savings to cover the costs of living and health insurance.
With people living longer and needing additional money to do so, retirement planning is a vital activity even for those people who are halfway to the common retirement age of sixty-five. It could be a daunting task to plan for a couple of decades into the future, particularly with bills, housing costs and mortgages to pay today, but procrastinating won't make it any easier.
Placing even just a small amount of money now into a savings account which serves as a retirement savings plan can pay off later on. The interest you get on money in a savings account will allow your initial investments to grow to something sustainable. A savings account will provide a place where you can pile up capital earning a little interest rate until there's enough to invest in a trusted security that will yield you more like a municipal bond.
Another good strategy which could certainly and gradually build a nest egg is to put money into long-term bonds. After maturation of the bond, you will get back your initial investment and also all the interest which collected over the life of the bond. That's a considerable amount of money for a 20- or 30-year bond-money which could provide a good foundation for retirement. And a municipal or government bond is as safe an investment that you can ever make.
401K and IRA With Retirement - Highwood, IL
Nonetheless, the best approach when it comes to retirement planning is to put funds in a 401K plan at your workplace or in an IRA opened with an investment house. For the people for whom a 401K isn't a retirement planning choice, an IRA is the next best thing. Money put into this account is tax deferred and may be tax-deductible, depending on how much is invested every year.
For more info, please feel free to contact GC Financial Advisors Ltd. at any time and we'll be happy to help you! We provide 401K and IRA rollover and review services for individuals in the Highwood, IL area.
